Names of Significant Indian Authors from A.J.Khan's Urdu/Hindi: An Artificial Divide

This book, written by an amateur (practising physician), is quite interesting in tracing some of the history of the dividing of Urdu / Hindi. It also cites quite some examples through history of texts that the author considers Urdu/Hindi. Interesting points for my purpose at hand:

1. Also acknowledges significance of Kabir and Nanak.

2. Considers 5 greatest poets of Indians to be: Iqbal, Kalidasa, Khusro, Ghalib, Tagore. And he considers Iqbal the best of them

> Iqbal (1877-1928)

> Amir Khrusro (1253-1335), a disciple of a famous Sufi of Delhi, Nizamuddin; he was the first to characterize his mother tongue as Hindi or Hindiwi

> Asad ullah Khan-Ghalib (1796-1869): "Ghalib has remained unchallenged in name and fame among Indian poets of any language."

3. Urdu/Hindi prose developed much later than poetry; "Prem Chand stands out as the one who fathered short stories/novels and fiction of the modern variety." Prem Chand wrote in both Urdu and Hindi. (A fact also noted in Chap 29 of Basham 1984). Munshi Prem Chand (his full name) lived between 1880-1936 - same generation as Iqbal. He was the founder of Progressive Writers' Movement, whose members included most prominent Indian writers of his time

My next steps to close out this chase through my books about Indian literary canon:

1) Find out more about ancients: Khrusro, Jaina and Maharashti literature 

2) Find out more about moderns: Ghalib, Iqbal, Tagore, Prem Chand, and even Rushdie etc.